EU Plans Provisional Anti-Dumping Duties on Chinese Solar Panels

The European Commission is set to impose provisional anti-dumping duties on imports of Chinese solar panels, according to media reports published on 8 May. The planned duties are expected to average at around 47 percent.

The anti-dumping duties are the result of an investigation that the Commission launched last September, in response to a complaint by the European Pro Sun coalition, a group of 25 European solar panel manufacturers headed by the German-based SolarWorld. The same coalition of companies have also filed a separate complaint alleging that China’s producers had received unfair subsidies; the results of that investigation are expected by August.

Industry response

The EU is China’s main export market for solar panels, making up nearly 80 percent of all Chinese export sales, according to European Commission data. In 2011 alone, China exported €21 billion worth of solar panels and their main components to the 27-member EU bloc.

The proposed duties have sparked a mixed response within the EU solar industry. While solar panel producers, such as EU ProSun, have long called for measures to level the allegedly unfair playing field, others, such as the Alliance for Affordable Solar Energy (AFASE) - a coalition of 450 European companies- have argued that the duties could have adverse consequences for downstream solar energy producers, such as installers or importers.

Long-running disagreements

Meanwhile, two separate cases involving the alleged dumping and unfair subsidisation of solar glass, respectively, are also under investigation by Brussels. These were both launched at the request of EU ProSun Glass, an ad hoc group representing over 25 percent of solar glass industry production in Europe. Those processes are each expected to take several months.

Commission proposal could facilitate future investigations

The European Commission has recently proposed a revision to the way it conducts trade defence investigations, which could- among other changes - make it easier for Brussels to initiate trade investigations without an official request from industry. Trade analysts have suggested that this could make it easier to undertake more cases involving Beijing, as it could protect European industry from potential retaliation.

The legislative proposal still requires the approval of the European Council and the European Parliament to come into effect. If successful, the Commission has said that the changes would likely not become law until 2014.